The Grim Reaper stalked the campus of Willits High School this week snatching victims from class and spiriting them away. It wasn't a scene from a horror movie; it was the brainchild of two WHS seniors who want to save lives.

The Reaper and the realistic staged accident that preceded his appearance were all part of the Every 15 Minutes Program, a role-playing exercise which graphically teaches students the dangers of drunk driving.

Seniors Ashley Baldwin and Alicia Mehtlan chose the program for their senior project because both of them lost family members to drunk driving.

"Ever since freshman year we've both been talking to each other about it," Ashley said. "When the time came we both just joined together and did it."

The two-day program has a standard agenda starting with a staged drunk driving accident. East Commercial Street was blocked off early Wednesday morning and the entire student body of Willits High witnessed the aftermath of a deadly crash, staged by student actors, teachers and the full compliment of police, fire and emergency services from the Willits area.

Ghastly wounds and lots of theater blood lent a serious and yes, sobering air to the scene.

"It's a mock car crash that shows the kids what drinking and driving really is," Alicia said. "And the consequences that come with it."

Student actors served as victims while firefighters from Brooktrails and the Little Lake Fire Department worked to rescue them from the two cars involved in the wreck, using extraction equipment, an axe and at times, their brute strength to get the job done.

One student "victim" was dead at the scene; another was taken away from the crash by air ambulance.

But the lesson didn't end there. For the rest of the day, the Reaper visited the classrooms of Willits High, stealing away one student every 15 minutes from classrooms, a tangible representation of how often drunk driving takes a life. An obituary was read for each student

Students removed from classes were taken to the KOA Campground for a program that included guest speaker Mark Sterner, a man tragically responsible for the death of his friends while driving drunk during a Spring Break road trip.

Sterner gave his speech to the entire student body on Thursday. The assembly also showed a video of Wednesday's accident and rescue.

It turns out surviving the accident wasn't the end of the story. For our student "drunk driver" the trial came next. The Mendocino County District Attorney's office, a superior court judge and representatives of the public defenders office made it real.

"I hope that at least a small amount of students take away [the idea] not to drink and drive and they actually learn the consequences," Ashley said. "I want the number of deaths from drinking and driving to go down and I want us as a student body to raise awareness."

Both girls plan to continue working after graduation to raise awareness about the real danger of drunk driving.

"I want them to think twice before they get into a car," Alicia said. "Rather than drinking and driving, have a sober driver at all times."